Rugged, roomy pickup easy to drive

by
Jodi Lai, National Post | March 28, 2013

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I never considered myself to be a “truck person.” I’m biased toward speedy little hatchbacks, so when the task came up to move half of my worldly possessions out of my soon-to-be-sold condo into a storage facility (the basement of my generous in-laws), the realization that my Volkswagen Rabbit wouldn’t do it was a tough one to swallow.

Thanks to Toyota, though, I have a new perspective on trucks: Pickups are pretty awesome.

The first reason is sheer practicality. Even though the Tacoma (my tester was the 4×4 Double Cab V6 starting at $28,614) is considered a “small truck,” its six-foot cargo bed was able to haul most of my stuff in one trip. The V6 felt slightly underpowered, but it’s a pickup truck, not a track machine, so I can’t really complain. Acceleration was acceptable with the truck bed empty, but filled with my furniture, I had Smart car drivers passing me with a bit too much ease. Perhaps a more robust first two gears and a taller, extra gear in the five-speed automatic transmission would have helped greatly with faster acceleration, a quieter highway drive and better fuel economy.

The rugged Tacoma was also surprisingly easy to drive, and put my fears of turning my daily commute into a monster truck rally to rest. The steering feels light — but not feathery — so it doesn’t feel like you’re moving a 1,792-kilogram truck, which makes it easy to manoeuvre in tight spots. The backup camera with rear-view mirror display was also a godsend. It allowed me to park like a champ.

The second reason for a pickup’s appeal is a more subjective one: I felt weirdly badass driving the Tacoma. It’s a good feeling being bigger than everyone else on the road (this means great sightlines). Also, being a petite Asian female, the novelty of the weird looks I’d get driving the Tacoma never ceased to entertain me. I got waves from other lady truck drivers, shy smiles from seemingly shocked males, and many surprised questions: “This is your truck?”

During a run to the Home Depot, the Tacoma fit in nicely with the contractors’ trucks there, and even though I was wearing red lipstick and designer boots while they were wearing coveralls and hard hats, my Tacoma and I got nods of approval.

Maybe it was because the Tacoma is pretty stylish for a truck. You know a car’s grille is serious when you can see your reflection in it, and the Tacoma didn’t disappoint with its chrome-happy front end. Although the inside looked quite spartan, my tester had all the comforts: navigation, heated seats, satellite radio, Bluetooth. The buttons and steering wheel are big and chunky, perfect for a typical “truck person” who’d likely be wearing work gloves.

The Tacoma put my unease about driving a truck to rest. I felt confident driving it and it proved to be more practical than I ever imagined. I can definitely get used to this.